Petaling Jaya, 27 August 2005 - Line dancing, making a sandwich for your parents and teaching your child how to tie knots. These were some of the many exciting activities which children and parents took part in during Amway (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.'s (Amway) children's camp aimed at building happier healthier minds in children. The half-day camp is yet another initiative in line with the leading direct selling company's long-term commitment to promote positive mental health in children under its community programme called One By One.

Held at Sunway University College, more than 70 children between the ages of eight and twelve and their parents participated in the half-day camp aimed at fostering teamwork, communication and interaction amongst participants.

Children were grouped into teams to complete three activities during the first half of the camp. Those who were a little apprehensive and shy at the beginning, soon loosened up as the activities were designed to encourage interaction and teamwork.

At the line dancing base, the fast learners were seen teaching their team-mates the dance sequence, one step at a time. During "Leading the Blind", the children worked in pairs, each taking turns to be blindfolded. The child who could see needed to give the precise instructions to safely maneuver his/her partner through an obstacle course and pick up the correct tokens along the way.

While the children were busy undergoing their set of activities, parents were treated to a talk where Dr. Teoh Hsien-Jin, a leading Consultant Clinical Psychologist shared several tips on fostering child-parent relationships. Many parents were seen nodding their heads in agreement as Dr. Teoh quoted real-life examples and offered advice on understanding the child's personality, spending quality time, encouraging friendships, managing sibling rivalry and handling difficult behavior such as stealing and lying.

Both parents and children teamed up in the last session to play four activities, each designed to foster communication between child and parent. At the Knotty Challenge base, parents were tasked to teach their children common knots such as reef, bowline and sheet bend. With children being quick learners, there were instances where the child ended up as the teacher as parents got their knots in a tangled mess!

Paul Yee, Amway's General Manager said: "Through One By One, Amway aims to help children achieve their fullest potential by offering them the chance to lead healthier lives, be it physically or mentally. Thus, it is rewarding to see the children beaming with a sense of achievement for successfully completing the camp activities at the same time, having had the opportunity to forge a closer bond with their parents."

"At Amway, we believe parents play an important role in shaping their children's lives, thus the reason for incorporating a series of parent-child activities within the camp syllabus," continued Yee.

At the camp's conclusion, proud parents witnessed their children being presented with certificates of participation while children were busily exchanging autographs and phone numbers with their new friends.

Thirty Amway corporate staff and twenty Sunway University students from the Department of Psychology participated as volunteers to facilitate the camp activities.

Amway's One By One campaign also organizes One By One Workshops and Parenting Seminars which are open to the public. For more information on One By One, visit www.amway2u.com or email myhelpdesk@amway.com